Passing attack shreds Dallas’ ailing secondary
Broncos receiver Emmanuel Sanders broke inside on a quick slant near the goal line, stopped and then burst outside. Cowboys cornerback Jourdan Lewis bit on the first move — hard — and slid to his rear just to watch Sanders make the catch and stroll into the end zone.
A common theme Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High.
Sanders’ second-quarter score marked one of a career-high four passing touchdowns for quarterback Trevor Siemian in a deafening 42-17 Broncos’ victory over a much-beleaguered Dallas secondary. Siemian spread the ball with completions to eight different receivers and finished with 231 yards through the air on 22of-32 passing.
Dallas entered the afternoon already thin at cornerback depth with starter Orlando Scandrick sidelined last week with a broken hand. The Cowboys would lose two more defensive backs to injury by halftime: former University of Colorado star Chidobe Awuzie (hamstring) and Nolan Carroll (concussion).
It prompted Dallas to rely heavily on Lewis, a rookie third-round draft pick from Michigan, and secondyear cornerback Anthony Brown.
“I really wasn’t supposed to play defense as much, just getting my footing down, but I had to come in and step up,” said Lewis, who recorded an interception late in the third quarter. “I tried, but, obviously, it wasn’t my best performance. It was just a learning experience.”
A dire proposition against a feasting Broncos’ receiving corps.
Siemian’s second completion of the afternoon, facing third-and-4 from inside the Denver 30-yard line, went 27 yards to Demaryius Thomas. Siemian then connected on passes for 25 yards to Sanders, 16 yards to running back C.J. Anderson, 15 yards to tight end Jeff Heuerman and 13 yards to receiver Cody Latimer. Three Broncos hauled in receiving touchdowns: Sanders (two), Anderson and tight end Virgil Green.
In the Dallas locker room after the game, the Cowboys’ lone healthy starting cornerback, Brown, was clearly irked as reporters asked repeated questions about his unit’s inability to slow down the Broncos’ aerial attack. He answered each with the same response.
“I don’t know,” Brown said. “We’ve got to watch the film and see.”